After deliberating for approximately an hour, a Pierce County jury convicted Jaycee Fuller, 37, of first degree murder for killing cab driver Mohamud Ahmed. Prosecutor Mark Lindquist and Deputy Prosecutor Erika Nohavec tried the case, arguing to the jury that Fuller was motivated by financial desperation and his hatred of immigrants. Fuller attempted to rob Ahmed and killed him in a struggle by slitting his throat and stabbing him in the liver.

Ahmed was an immigrant from Somalia who came to the United States in search of a better life. In the early morning hours of March 8, 2009, he picked up his last fare, Fuller, in the Sixth Avenue area of Tacoma. Police later found Ahmed dead outside of his cab with the meter still running. At the murder scene, police found a Keg restaurant cap. Ahmed’s blood was outside the cap, and the defendant’s DNA was inside the cap.

The Keg cap with the defendant’s DNA was the linchpin in a multifaceted case presented by prosecutors, which relied on more than 20 witnesses, video evidence, GPS data and DNA. Fuller testified, denying the killing and professing revulsion at the sight of blood. In closing argument, Fuller, representing himself, spoke for nearly four hours. He argued that the case was circumstantial, the evidence pointing to him was coincidental or false, and people were out to get him. In a 20-minute rebuttal, Prosecutor Lindquist called this “the unluckiest man alive” defense.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 19, 2014. Fuller faces up to 30 years in prison.